What It’s Like Training With Ethiopian Runners

In the latest installment of Adharanand Finn’s ongoing column about East-African running, he writes about what it’s like to run trails with Ethiopian track stars. Previously, he had been in Kenya living with runners in Eldoret. But lately, he moved north of Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa.

“Unlike in Kenya, where the athletes live in training camps, the Ethiopian runners live scattered around the chaotic, rubble-strewn neighbourhoods, mostly in modest, rented accommodation,” he writes.

The single-track trails he runs on are full of Ethiopians who play the game of follow-the-leader with each other. Finn runs with Tadele Geremew Muluget who finished third at the recent Belgrade Marathon. In a different session, he observes runners doing short sprints. “Whether you’ve just done an easy jog or a hard 35km, 10 minutes of short sprints are always the dessert,” he writes.

The runners also complete “a series of arm moves, waving their hands in the air as they walk back and forth.” Finn notes: ” I don’t know who devised this method of doing things, but it has certainly caught on. Everywhere, when you see runners finishing their training, they’re all doing the same short sprints and series of arm actions.”

Duncan Larkin

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist and author who’s been covering the sport of running for over a decade. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. He wrote the book RUN SIMPLE, and coaches runners of all abilities.
You can learn more about him here: http://roadsmillslaps.tumblr.com/about